Mt. Kephart, located smack dab in the middle of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is the 21st highest of the 40 Southern 6'ers, and would be #12 on my list. Completely wooded at the top, the peak by itself isn't really a great stand-alone hiking destination. What gets most people to the summit is the precipitous cliff known as the Jump Off located on its northern ridge. In fact, it's quite likely that most people visiting Kephart don't even realize they've completed a Southern 6'er!

The hike out to the peak isn't long or hard and it sits along the main cattle trail out to the hugely popular Charlie's Bunion so I had no illusions of solitude going into this hike. I would be spending the bulk of my hike along the Appalachian Trail, getting an early start from Newfound Gap to beat the afternoon storms and the crowds. From Newfound Gap it's about 3 miles out to Mt. Kephart and the Jump Off. Charlie's Bunion, which shouldn't be missed despite the crowds sits another 1.5 miles farther down the A.T. I was treated to just about every type of summertime weather the Smokies could throw at me on this hike so I had to make a few itenerary changes on the fly but I still managed to succeed in visiting all the spots I set out to, even if I didn't get the clear blue skies I was hoping for. If anything it made for a much more memorable hike than it otherwise might have been!

Hike Length: 9.0 miles Hike Duration: 6:00

Trailhead Temp: 65'F Trail Traffic: 10-25 people

Min. Elevation: 5,048' Max. Elevation: 6,217'

Total Vertical Gain: 1,975' Avg. Elevation Gain / Mile: 220'

Mt. Kephart, NC/TN (7-23-12)

Mt. Kephart (6,217'), as seen from the south along US-441. You can pretty much see the entire route I followed this day. The Appalachian Trail follows the crest of the ridge seen here from Newfound Gap, to the far left, over to Charlie's Bunion which is hidden on the far side of the ridge to the extreme right...

My (approximate) route...

Newfound Gap - 5,050'

I started the hike from Newfound Gap...unfortunately, I wouldn't have time today to make it to Maine...

There really aren't all that many views along the A.T. between Newfound Gap and the Boulevard Trail, despite the fact that it follows closely the top of the ridge...this shot looks into North Carolina not far from Newfound Gap...

At the 2.7 mile mark I hit the A.T.-Boulevard Trail split. The clouds, worryingly, hadn't burned off yet so I figured I'd head for Charlie's Bunion first which, I hoped, would be cloud free as it sits at a much lower elevation...

What sun????...I checked the time-stamp when I got home...exactly NINE minutes after basking in glorious sunshine I was digging my rain jacket out of my pack amidst a good 'ol fashioned Smoky Mountain downpour...ahh, the mountains...